Method of making hollow elastomeric bodies

Annular elastomeric bodies having intricate shapes are cast by dipping a heated, rotating mandrel into a solution of the elastomer, permitting the elastomer to creep into sharp recesses, drying the coated mandrel and repeating the operation until the desired thickness has been achieved. A bladder for a heart assist pump in which a cylindrical body terminating in flat, sharp horizontal flanges fabricated by this procedure has been subjected to over 2,500 hours of simulated life conditions with no visible signs of degradation

System impacts of solar dynamic and growth power systems on space station

Concepts for the 1990's space station envision an initial operational capability with electrical power output requirements of approximately 75 kW and growth power requirements in the range of 300 kW over a period of a few years. Photovoltaic and solar dynamic power generation techniques are contenders for supplying this power to the space station. A study was performed to identify growth power subsystem impacts on other space station subsystems. Subsystem interactions that might suggest early design changes for the space station were emphasized. Quantitative analyses of the effects of power subsystem mass and projected area on space station controllability and reboost requirements were conducted for a range of growth station configurations. Impacts on space station structural dynamics as a function of power subsystem growth were also considered

An advanced technology space station for the year 2025, study and concepts

A survey was made of potential space station missions that might exist in the 2020 to 2030 time period. Also, a brief study of the current state-of-the-art of the major subsystems was undertaken, and trends in technologies that could impact the subsystems were reviewed. The results of the survey and study were then used to arrive at a conceptual design of a space station for the year 2025. Factors addressed in the conceptual design included requirements for artificial gravity, synergies between subsystems, and the use of robotics. Suggestions are made relative to more in-depth studies concerning the conceptual design and alternative configurations

Chemical Bonding Technology: Direct Investigation of Interfacial Bonds

This is the third Flat-Plate Solar Array (FSA) Project document reporting on chemical bonding technology for terrestrial photovoltaic (PV) modules. The impetus for this work originated in the late 1970s when PV modules employing silicone encapsulation materials were undergoing delamination during outdoor exposure. At that time, manufacturers were not employing adhesion promoters and, hence, module interfaces in common with the silicone materials were only in physical contact and therefore easily prone to separation if, for example, water were to penetrate to the interfaces. Delamination with silicone materials virtually vanished when adhesion promoters, recommended by silicone manufacturers, were used. The activities related to the direct investigation of chemically bonded interfaces are described

Analysis of a rotating advanced-technology space station for the year 2025

An analysis is made of several aspects of an advanced-technology rotating space station configuration generated under a previous study. The analysis includes examination of several modifications of the configuration, interface with proposed launch systems, effects of low-gravity environment on human subjects, and the space station assembly sequence. Consideration was given also to some aspects of space station rotational dynamics, surface charging, and the possible application of tethers

Some operational aspects of a rotating advanced-technology space station for the year 2025

The study of an Advanced Technology Space Station which would utilize the capabilities of subsystems projected for the time frame of the years 2000 to 2025 is discussed. The study includes tradeoffs of nuclear versus solar dynamic power systems that produce power outputs of 2.5 megawatts and analyses of the dynamics of the spacecraft of which portions are rotated for artificial gravity. The design considerations for the support of a manned Mars mission from low Earth orbit are addressed. The studies extend to on-board manufacturing, internal gas composition effects, and locomotion and material transfer under artificial gravity forces. The report concludes with an assessment of technology requirements for the Advanced Technology Space Station

Thirty years of phosphorus fertilizer on Irish Pastures.

End of Project ReportThirty years of research involving phosphorus (P) fertiliser rates (0, 15 and 30 kg/ha/yr) on pastures has been completed. Beef performance on pasture at relatively low and high stocking rates was determined by weighing beef animals (mean wt = 260kg) at the beginning and end of each grazing season for 18 years. Soil samples were taken at various times and at various depths. Live weight gain (LWG) was greatest at the high stocking rate (HSR) compared to the low stocking rate (LSR). LWG maximised at 15 kg P/ha. Maximum beef production took place with a soil test of 6 mg P/l using the Morgan’s procedure. Most of the soil P and fertiliser P, as measured by both the Morgan’s and Total P procedures, were in the top 10cm. However, a significant portion moved below that to the 10-20 cm layer, as determined by both Total and Morgan’s P in both P treatments. Soil P and fertiliser P as determined by the Morgan’s procedure moved into the 20-40 cm layer but no lower. Work done on the 30 kg/ha P treatment and on another site at Johnstown Castle showed that significant amounts of P moved off the plot with water in overland flow and the loss was related to the soil test (Morgan’s) for P. The amount of P lost per unit of Morgan’s was calculated to be 175g with a Morgan’s soil test of 4 mg P/l and 281g with a soil test of 17 mg P/l. A mass balance procedure was attempted for the 30 years’ work to determine how much P was exported in beef, lost in overland flow or retained in the soil. This showed that fertilising beyond 15 kg/ha gave no increase in beef production and that the extra P was found in the soil, or lost in overland flow. When 15kg P/ha was applied annually for 30 years it was estimated that 20% and 4% of P applied was removed in beef or lost in overland flow, respectively. It was calculated that 76% of the P applied stayed in the soil

Utilizing Inverted Colloidal Crystal Scaffolds to Engineer In Vitro Bone and Bone Marrow.

Numerous studies have shown that cells and tissues grown in 2D substrates behave dramatically differently than in the body, and that culturing them in three dimensional (3D) scaffolds can restore some of this lost functionality. 3D scaffolds can provide structural support to an injury site in the body, aiding the growth of healthy tissue. Outside of the body, scaffolds can be used to test pharmaceuticals, collecting data in an environment that represents the body better than traditional 2D cultures. This could potentially save millions of dollars in drug development costs. For these reasons, this dissertation focuses on the utilization of inverted colloidal crystal (ICC) scaffolds for bone and bone marrow engineering. ICC scaffolds are matrices that have a highly ordered 3D structure of interconnected spherical cavities. This dissertation describes the first ICC scaffold composed of a biodegradable polymer, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA). Within these scaffolds, the scaffold cavity sizes were controlled on the micro-scale by utilizing different beads sizes, 100, 200, and 330 μm, as the scaffold template. Additionally, the size of the channels that connect the cavities were controlled within the range of 660-710 ◦C by changing the annealing temperature. The compressive moduli of these scaffolds were in the range of 55-63 MPa. Lastly, biocompatibility with a human osteoblast cell line was demonstrated. Next, the dissertation utilized polyacrylamide hydrogel ICC scaffolds to engineer a human hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) niche. ICC scaffolds demonstrated significantly greater HSC expansion than 2D cultures. This work was continued by comparing the ICC scaffolds to Matrigel and 2D cultures. Here, it was observed that ICC cultures demonstrated stable numbers of HSCs throughout 14 days. 2D cultures expanded the number of HSCs 6-8× over 14 days and Matrigel cultures expanded differentiated cells but few HSCs. These results indicated that physical cell-cell interactions cause quiescence or preservation of the HSC phenotype, and the absence of direct cell-cell interactions causes HSC differentiation. Lastly, preliminary data was collected in utilizing ICC scaffolds as a tool for drug testing.Ph.D.Chemical EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78906/1/mcuddihy_1.pd

Brief of Scholars of the History and Original Meaning of the Fourth Amendment as Amici Curiae in Support of Petitioner, Carpenter v. United States, No. 16-402 (U.S. Aug. 14, 2017)

Obtaining and examining cell site location records to find a person is a “search” in any normal sense of the word — a search of documents and a search for a person and her personal effects. It is therefore a “search” within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment in that it constitutes “examining,” “exploring,” “looking through,” “inquiring,” “seeking,” or “trying to find.” Nothing about the text of the Fourth Amendment, or the historical backdrop against which it was adopted, suggests that “search” should be construed more narrowly as, for example, intrusions upon subjectively manifested expectations of privacy that society is prepared to recognize as reasonable.Entrusting government agents with unfettered discretion to conduct searches using cell site location information undermines Fourth Amendment rights. The Amendment guarantees “[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches.” The Framers chose that language deliberately. It reflected the insecurity they suffered at the hands of “writs of assistance,” a form of general warrant that granted state agents broad discretion to search wherever they pleased. Such arbitrary power was “unreasonable” to the Framers, being “against the reason of the common law,” and it was intolerable because of its oppressive impact on “the people” as a whole. As emphasized in one of the seminal English cases that inspired the Amendment, this kind of general power to search was “totally subversive of the liberty of the subject.” James Otis’s famous speech denouncing a colonial writ of assistance similarly condemned those writs as “the worst instrument of arbitrary power,” placing “the liberty of every man in the hands of every petty officer.” Thus, although those who drafted and ratified the Fourth Amendment could not have anticipated cellphone technology, they would have recognized the dangers inherent in any state claim of unlimited authority to conduct searches for evidence of criminal activity. Cell site location information provides insight into where we go and what we do. Because this information is constantly generated and can be retrieved by the government long after the activities it memorializes have taken place, unfettered government access to cell site location information raises the specter of general searches and undermines the security of “the people.